Emancipation!  Enfranchisement!  Reconstruction! 

* 

LEGISLATIVE  RECORD 

OF 

THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY 


DURING  AND  SINCE  THE  WAR, 

PUBLISHED  BY  THE  UNION  REPUBLICAN  CONGRESSIONAL  COMMITTEE,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 


A  brief  record  of  what  has  been  done  in 
Congress  since  the  slaveholding  Democracy 
begun  their  causeless  rebellion  is  herewith 
presented.  So  much  misrepresentation  is 
made  that  an  outline  of  measures  submit¬ 
ted,  and  of  the  dates  and  votes  on  and 
by  which  they  were  adopted,  could  not  be 
otherwise  than  serviceable  to  all.  Every 
honest,  fair-minded  man  will  perceive  at 
once  the  nature  of  the  struggle.  The  record 
herewith  offered  cannot  be  more  fitly  illus¬ 
trated  than  by  a  quotation  from  a  speech 
of  Alexander  II.  Stephens,  of  Georgia,  Vice 
President  of  the  so-called  Confederacy, 
made  at  Savannah,  Ga.,  March  21,  1801, 
for  the  purpose  of  announcing  to  the  world 
the  reasons  held  by  the  Southern  leaders 
for  inaugurating  their  formidable  revolu¬ 
tionary  attempt.  It  was  intended  as  a  sol¬ 
emn  argument  for  Southern  opinion  and 
*  for  the  full  vindication  of  their  Democratic 
action.  As  such  it  is  a  fitting  contrast  to 
Republican  action.  Mr.  Stephens  declares 
of  Mr.  Jefferson  that  “the  prevailing  ideas 
entertained  by  him  and  most  of  the  leading 
statesmen  at  the  time  of  the  formation  of 
the  old  Constitution  were,  that  the  enslave¬ 
ment  of  the  African  was  in  violation  of  the 
laws  of  nature;  that  it  was  wrong  in  prin¬ 
ciple,  socially,  morally,  and  politically. 
*  *  These  ideas  were  funda¬ 
mentally  wrong.  *  *  *  *  Our 

new  Government  (the  Confederacy)  is 
founded  upon  exactly  the  opposite  ideas. 
Its  foundations  are  laid,  its  corner-stone 
rests  upon  the  great  truth  that  the  negro  is  not 
equal  to  the  white  man;  that  slavery,  sub¬ 
ordination  to  the  superior,  is  hi3  natural 
and  normal  condition.” 

To  this  declaration,  with  its  accompany¬ 
ing  horrors  of  terrible  war,  the  starvation 
of  thousands  in  rebel  prisons,  the  filling  of 
the  land,  North  and  South,  with  graves 
and  mourning  households,  the  terrible  tax¬ 
ation  superinduced  by  the  cost  of  suppress¬ 
ing  this  Democratic  and  slavehol-ding 
JH&sJlion,  is  presented  what  the  Republican 


’  party  has  done  in  the  vindication  of  its 
principles  and  in  necessary  defence  of  the 
Republic  against  Democratic  treason. 


THE  THIRTY- SEVENTH  CONGRESS. 

Special  session  July  4,  18G1,  Senator 
Trumbull,  reported  from  the  Senate 
Judiciary  Committee,  July  20,  1801, 

a  bill  confiscating  property  used  in 
aid  of  the  rebellion.  The  Senator  of¬ 
fered  an  additional  section,  setting  free 
slaves  employed  by  their  masters  in 
aid  of  armed  insurrection.  Many 
were  employed  to  build  military  works, 
J:c.  An  exciting  debate  ensued.  All 
U.c  Democratic  Senators  opposed  it. 
Breckinridge,  of  Kentucky,  who  had  been 
that  party’s  candidate  for  President  the 
year  before  against  Mr.  Lincoln,  denounced 
the  proposition  as  the  beginning  of  a  series 
of  measures  sure  to  lead  “to  a  general  con¬ 
fiscation  of  all  property  and  a  loosing  of  all 
bonds .”  When  the  bill  passed  the  Senate, 
July  22,  every  Democrat  voted  against, 
every  Republican  for.  The  bill  passed  the 
House  of  Representatives,  after  a  similar 
debate,  August  3,  (every  Democrat  voting 
“no,”)  and  was  signed  by  Mr.  Lincoln 
and  became  law  on  the  6th  of  August,  1861. 

On  the  25th  day  of  February,  1362,  at 
the  first  regular  session  of  the  Thirty-Sev¬ 
enth  Congress,  an  additional  article  of  war, 
forbidding  and  punishing  the  return  of  fu¬ 
gitives  by  either  naval  or  military  officers, 
passed  the  House.  On  the  10th  of  March 
it  passed  the  Senate.  On  the  loth  it  was 
approved  by  the  President.  It  was  opposed 
by  the  Democrats  in  every  stage  of  its  pro¬ 
gress. 

Senator  Wilson,  (Republican,)  on  the 
4th  of  December,  1861,  introduced  a  reso¬ 
lution  looking  toward  the  emancipation  of 
all  slaves  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  Oil 
the  24th  of  February,  1862,  lie  offered  a 
bill  providing  for  this  grand  result.  It 
passed  the  Senate,  April  3.  Every  Repub¬ 
lican  voted  for,  every  Democrat  against  it. 


9, 


The  owners  were  to  be  compensated  out  of 
the  Treasury  according  to  an  award  to  be 
made  by  commissioners  appointed  for  the 
purpose.  It  passed  the  House  on  the  11th 
of  April,  and  was  signed  by  President  Lin¬ 
coln,  April  16,  1862.  By  this  act  tehee 
thousand  persons  were  made  free. 

On  the  6th  of  March,  1862,  President 
Lincoln,  by  special  message,  recommended 
Congress  to  pass  a  joint  resolution,  offering 
on  the  part  of  the  United  States  to  co¬ 
operate  with  any  State  desiring  to  gradu¬ 
ally  abolish  slavery,  giving  to  such  State 
pecuniary  aid  in  support  of  the  action. 

On  the  10th  of  March  Mr.  Roscoe  Conk- 
ling  (Republican)  offered  a  joint  resolu¬ 
tion  covering  the  ground  suggested  by  Mr. 
Lincoln.  After  a  stormy  debate,  in  which 
all  the  Democrats  opposed  its  passage,  and 
the  policy  of  emancipation  it  sustained,  it 
passed  the  House  on  the  11th  of  March  by 
a  vote  of  89  for,  all  Republican,  and  31 
against,  all  Democrats.  It  passed  the 
Senate  after  long  debate,  April  2,  alljout 
one  Democrat  (Garrett  Davis,  Kentucky) 
voting  against  it.  Tne  President  signed 
it  April  10,  1862. 

On  the  24tli  of  March,  1862,  Mr.  Arnold, 
(Republican,)  of  Illinois,  introduced  into 
the  House  a  bill  prohibiting  slavery  forever 
in  any  of  the  Territories  of  the  United 
States.  On  the  8th  day  of  May  Mr.  Love- 
joy,  of  Illinois,  reported  the  measure  from 
committee  to  the  House.  On  the  12th  day 
of  May  it  passed,  83  Republicans  voting 
“aye”  and  50  Democrats  voting  “no.” 
It  was  taken  up  in  the  Senate  on  the  15th  of 
May.  On  the  Otli  of  J nne  it  was  discussed, 
amended,  and  passed  by  a  vote  of  22  yeas 
to  10  nays,  every  Democrat  present  voting 
in  the  minority.  It  was  passed  by  the 
House  on  the  17tli  of  June,  approved  by 
Mr.  Lincoln,  and  thus  made  law,  June  19, 
1862.  By  this  act  half  of  the  area  of  the 
United  States  was  secured  forever  to  free¬ 
dom. 

Mr.  Pomeroy,  of  Kansas,  on  the  16th  of 
July,  1861,  introduced  into  the  Senate  a 
bill  setting  forth  that,  as  slavery  caused  the 
rebellion,  then  forcing  a  life  and  death 
struggle  on  the  nation,  therefore  slavery 
should  be  declared  abolished  in  all 
States  in  arms  against  the  Govern¬ 
ment.  This  was  the  first  anti-slavery 
measure  offered  by  the  Republicans  in  Con¬ 
gress.  It  was  referred  to  the  Judiciary 
Committee.  Various  propositions  grew 
out  of  the  discussion.  The  debate  over 
them  lasted  from  December,  1861,  to 
July,  1862.  The  delay  was  wholly 
caused  by  Democratic  opposition.  Finally, 
a  bill  originally  offered  by  Senatoi 
Clark,  New  Hampshire,  passed  the  Sen¬ 
ate,  June  23.  it  went  to  the  House,  was 
amended,  again  referred  to  a  committee  of 
conference,  and  finally  passed  the  House 
July  11,  1862,  by  a  vote  of  82  Republicans 
to  42  Democrats.  On  the  12th  the  Senate 


passed  it  by  a  party  vote  of  27  Republicans 
to  12  Democrats.  On  the  17th  of  July  it 
received  the  approval  of  Mr.  Lincoln  and 
became  a  law. 

This  enactment  provided  that  all  slaves 
of  persons  aiding  the  rebellion  comiDg 
within  our  lines,  or  deserted  by  their  mas¬ 
ters  and  coming  within  our  control,  and 
all  slaves  found  in  places  occupied  by  the 
rebel  armies  and  captured  by  our  troops, 
should  be  deemed  captives  of  war,  and  be 
forever  made  free;  also,  that  slaves  should 
not  be  surrendered;  that  any  person  in  the 
military  or  naval  service  so  surrendering 
them  should  be  punished. 

Prior  to  the  inauguration  of  Mr.  Lincoln 
as  President,  March  4,  1861,  the  Govern¬ 
ment  was  controlled  in  the  interests  of 
slavery.  The  United  States  was  at  the 
time  the  only  civilized  government  refus¬ 
ing  to  recognize  the  national  existence  of 
the  Republics  of  Liberia  and  Hayti,  solely 
because  the  people  thereof  were  persons  of 
African  descent. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1862,  Senator 
Charles  Sumner  reported  a  bill  for  the 
establishment  of  .diplomatic  relations  with 
the  countries  named.  It  passed  the  Sen¬ 
ate  April  24, 1862 — all  the  Democrats  voting 
“no.”  During  their  discussion,  Demo¬ 
cratic  Senators  indulged  in  ridicule 
at  the  idea  of  seeing  a  man  of  color 
recognized  in  a  diplomatic  capacity.  The 
bill  passed  the  House  June  3,  1862,  and 
became  a  law  by  the  approval  of  Mr.  Lin¬ 
coln  on  the  5th  of  the  same  month. 

On  the  9th  of  April,  1862,  Senator 
Grimes,  of  Iowa,  introduced  a  bill  pro¬ 
viding  that  ten  per  cent,  of  the  taxes  col¬ 
lected  from  the  colored  residents  of  the  , 
District  of  Columbia  should  he  set  aside 
for  the  education  of  colored  children 
in  the  District.  It  was  stated  that  the 
amount  of  taxable  property  belonging  to 
colored  persons  in  the  District  was  valued 
at  $650,000.  On  this  a  tax  of  $36,000  was 
paid.  The  school  ten  per  cent,  would  be 
$3,600.  It  appeared  that  under  the  slave¬ 
holding  municipal  rule  the  taxes  paid  by 
colored  persons  were  used  to  educate  white 
children  only.  Until  the  1st  ot  June,  1868, 
when  the  Republicans  elected  the  Mayor  of 
Washington,  the  Democratic  city  authori¬ 
ties  had  in  every  way  resisted  the  payment 
to  the  colored  schools  of  the  amount  au¬ 
thorized  by  Congress  to  be  so  paid,  and  a 
large  amount  yet  remains  due  the  school 
funds. 

On  the  8th  of  May,  Senator  Wilson, 
(Rep.,)  Massachusetts,  offered  au  addi¬ 
tional  section,  providing  for  the  abolition 
of  all  ordinances,  laws,  &c.,  which  within 
the  District  made  odious  discretions 
against  the  colored  people.  The  laws  thus 
to  be  repealed  were  made  under  the  sys¬ 
tem  of  slavery,  and  were  very  oppressive 
iu  their  character.  The  bill,  as  amended, 
passed  the  Senate  May  9,  by  a  vote  of  29 


o 

O 


Republicans  to  7  Democrats.  It  passed  the 
House  on  the  15th,  and  became  a  law  by 
Mr.  Lincoln’s  approval  May  17,  1862. 

On  the  23d  of  June,  Mr.  Lovejoy,  of  Illi¬ 
nois,  offered  a  hill  in  the  House  for  the  ( s- 
tablishment  of  a  Board  of  Trustees  to  take 
charge  of  the  colored  schools  of  the  Dis¬ 
trict,  and  to  whom  the  pro  rata  of  taxes 
w’as  to  be  paid.  The  object  was  to  ensure 
the  establishment  of  the  schools,  as  the 
Democratic  city  government  refused  to  put 
them  in  operation.  This  bill  became  a 
law,  against  the  opposition  of  all  the  Dem¬ 
ocrats  in  Congress,  on  the  11th  of  July, 
1862. 

Under  Democratic  misrule  the  American 
flag  was  openly  used  to  cover  the  infamous 
African  slave  trade — a  traffic  so  inhuman 
that  the  framers  of  the  Constitution  inserted 
a  provision  for  its  early  cessation.  They 
thus  expressed  their  abhorrence  of  a  traffic 
at  a  time  when  its  practice  was  recognized 
by  all  commercial  nations.  As  soon  as  the 
Republicans  obtained  power  they  set  at 
work  to  enforce  treaties  made  for  its  sup¬ 
pression. 

On  the  12th  of  June,  1862,  Senator  Sum¬ 
ner  reported  a  bill  for  that  purpose.  It 
provided  for  judges  and  arbitrators  to  be 
appointed  at  points  suitable  for  making  de¬ 
cisions  with  relation  to  vessels  captured  as 
slavers.  The  only  speech  made  in  the 
Senate  against  it  was  by  Mr.  Saulsbury,  of 
Delaware — a  Democrat.  Four  Democrats 
voted  “nay.”  The  bill  passed  the  House 
on  the  7th  of  July,  and  was  approved  by 
Mr.  Lincoln  on  the  11th  of  July,  1862. 

An  additional  bill  was  passed  by  both 
houses  and  became  a  law  on  the  17th  of 
July,  1862, 

Mr.  Lincoln  enforced  the  law  of  nations 
with  regard  to  this  traffic  by  the  trial  as  a 
pirate  of  one  Gordon,  captured  while  engag¬ 
ed  in  the  African  slave  trade.  This  wTas  in 
marked  contrast  to  the  action  of  Demo¬ 
cratic  Executives.  A  prominent  Southern 
Democrat,  one  Captain  Lamar,  of  Savan¬ 
nah,  Ga.,  openly  violated  the  laws,  and,  in 
1859  or  1869,  landed  a  cargo  of  native  Afri¬ 
cans  on  the  coast  of  Georgia,  who  were 
immediately  sold  as  slaves.  Lamar  is  re¬ 
cognized  as  a  leading  Democrat,  and,  of 
course,  was  an  active  rebel. 

On  the  12th  of  July,  1862,  Senator  Wil¬ 
son,  as  chairman  of  Committee  on  Mili¬ 
tary  Affairs,  reported  to  the  Senate  a 
bill  for  the  organization  of  the  militia, 
and  to  suppress  insurrection.  Under  its 
provisions  the  President  was  to  be  au¬ 
thorized  to  receive  colored  men  into 
military  service,  for  the  purpose  of  con¬ 
structing  intrenchments,  or  other  labor,  or 
any  military  service  for  which  they  might 
be  found  competent.  When  so  enrolled, 
the  man,  his  mother,  wife,  and  children 
were  to  be  forever  declared  free.  The  de¬ 
bate  over  the  bill  was  long  and  earnest. 
The  Democrats  fought  it  at  every  stage. 


The  bill  passed  the  Senate  on  the  15th  of 
July,  by  a  vote  of  28  yeas  and  9  nays,  all  but 
one  of  the  latter  being  Democrats.  It  pass¬ 
ed  the  House  on  the  16th,  and  became  a 
law,  by  approval  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  on  the 
17tli  of  July,  1862. 

The  first  authorized  military  organiza¬ 
tion  of  colored  men  was  made  under  this 
law.  Senator  James  II.  Lane,  of  Kansas, 
acting  as  Commissioner  of  Recruiting,  un¬ 
der  authority  of  the  War  Department, 
raised  one  regiment  of  colored  men,  mus¬ 
tered  in  as  volunteer  infantry.  This  or¬ 
ganization  was  begun  on  the  4th  of  Au¬ 
gust.  It  fought  the  first  engagement  with 
rebels  in  which  colored  men  served,  Octo1 
her  26,  1862,  nine  weeks  before  the  pro¬ 
clamation  of  emancipation  was  issued  by 
Mr.  Lincoln.  This  regiment  was  mustered 
out  of  service,  November,  1865. 

On  the  22d  clay  of  September,  1862,  Presi¬ 
dent  Abraham  Lincoln  issued  a  proclama¬ 
tion,  announcing  that  on  the  first  day  of 
January,  1863,  he  should  issue  another  pro¬ 
clamation  declaring  free  all  persons  held 
as  slaves  within  such  States  and  districts 
as  should  be  therein  named. 

In  accordance  with  the  terms  of  this  pre¬ 
fatory  instrument,  Abraham  Lincoln,  on 
the  first  day  of  January,  1863,  did  issue  a 
proclamation  of  emancipation,  declaring 
all  slaves  free  forever  within  the  States  of 
Arkansas,  Texas,  Louisiana,  Mississippi, 
Alabama,  Florida,  Georgia,  North  and 
South  Carolina,  and  Virginia,  excepting 
only  certain  designated  portions  of  Louis¬ 
iana  and  Virginia  occupied  by  our  troops, 
and  in  which  the  slaves  had  become  prac¬ 
tically  free.  By  this  act  over  three  millions 
of  persons  were  from  chattels  made  men  and 
women  in  the  eye  of  the  law.  The  same 
proclamation  also  authorized  the  enlist¬ 
ment  of  colored  men  into  the  army  and 
navy. 

On  the  17th  of  February,  1863,  Senator 
Wilson  introduced  a  bill  to  incorporate  an 
institution  for  the  education  of  colored 
youths,  to  be  located  in  the  District  of  Co¬ 
lumbia.  Even  this  measure  met  with  great 
opposition  from  the  Democrats,  one  of 
them  declaring  he  could  not  “see  any  good 
reason  why  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  should  enter  upon  the  scheme  of 
educating  negroes.”  The  bill  passed  the 
Senate,  February  27,  by  a  vote  of  27  ayes 
to  9  noes,  the  latter  being  all  Democrats. 
It  passed  the  House  on  the  2d  of  March, 
and  was  approved  next  day  by  Mr.  Lin¬ 
coln. 

In  the  second  session  of  the  Thirty-Eighth 
Congress,  February  10,  1864,  a  bill  enroll¬ 
ing  all  able-bodied  persons  for  military 
purposes  was  amended  by  striking  out  one 
of  its  sections  and  inserting  in  substance 
“  that  all  able-bodied  male  persons  of  Afri¬ 
can  descent  between  the  ages  of  twenty 
and  forty -five,  whether  citizens  or  not, 
shall  be  enrolled  and  made  a  part  of  the  na- 


4 


tional  forces ;  and,  when  enrolled  and 
drafted  into  the  service,  his  master  shall  be 
entitled  to  receive  three  hundred  dollars, 
and  the  drafted  man  shall  be  free.”  It  was 
modified  so  as  to  provide  only  for  payment 
to  loyal  masters,  and  afterwards  by  re¬ 
ducing  the  bounty  paid  to  one  hundred 
dollars.  Afterwards  the  Thirty-Ninth  Con¬ 
gress  suspended  the  payment  of  all  sack 
bounties,  January  14,  1867.  The  vote 

stood  in  the  House  107  Republicans  to  86 
Democrats.  The  enrolment  bill  as  passed 
made  all  colored  men  liable  to  draft,  and, 
if  a  slave  at  the  time,  made  himself  and 
family  free. 

A  movement  for  the  appropriation  of 
money  to  compensate  the  border  States  for 
the  emancipation  of  their  slaves  was  be¬ 
gun  by  Senator  Wilson,  March  7,  1862. 
Several  propositions  followed,  and  a  long 
discussion  ensued,  terminating  in  the  Sen¬ 
ate  by  the  passage  of  a  bill  granting  ten 
million  dollars  as  compensation  to  Mis¬ 
souri  for  such  emancipation,  February  12, 
1863.  The  bill  was  lost  by  the  dilatory 
motion  of  the  Democrats  in  the  House  at 
the  close  of  the  session. 

Hon.  James  M.  Ashley,  (Rep.,)  of  Ohio, 
introduced  into  the  Thirty-Eighth  Con¬ 
gress,  December  14,  1863,  an  amendment 
to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
declaring  slavery  forever  abolished.  It  was 
referred  to  the  Judiciary  Committee,  and 
it  was  favorably  reported  to  the  House. 

Senator  Henderson,  of  Missouri,  on  the 
11th  of  January,  1864,  introduced  a  simi¬ 
lar  proposition,  it  was  referred  to  the 
Senate  Judiciary  Committee.  This  is  the 
amendment  finally  adopted,  and  now 
known  as  Article  Fourteen  of  the  Constitu¬ 
tion. 

Amendments  and  substitutes  were  offered 
by  Mr.  Sumner  and  other  Senators.  The 
discussion  continued;  Democratic  Sena¬ 
tors  resisting  fi.s  passage  at  every  stage, 
from  the  date  of  introduction  until  the  8th 
of  April,  1864.  The  vote  stood  38  ayes  to 
6  noes,  only  one  Democrat  (Senator  Nes¬ 
mith,  of  Oregon,)  voting  in  the  affirmative. 

Debate  on  the  amendment  begun  in  the 
House  on  the  31st  of  May,  1864,  and  it  was 
rejected,  then  reconsidered  on  the  5th  of 
December  following,  and  finally  passed  the 
House,  alter  au  exciting  debate  on  Tues¬ 
day,  January  27,  1865,  by  a  vote  of  119 
yeas  to  57  nays,  the  latter  being  all  Demo¬ 
crats.  Three  Democrats  only  voted  for 
this  beneficial  act.  The  amendment,  as 
finally  incorporated  into  the  Constitution 
as  article  fourteen,  is  as  follows: 

Sec  1.  Neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servi¬ 
tude,  except  as  a  punishment  lor  crime,  whereof 
the  party  shill  hive  been  duly  cou.iited,  shall 
exist  within  the  United  States,  or  any  place  sub¬ 
ject  to  their  jurisd  ction 

Sec.  2.  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  : 
this  ar  iclo  by  appropriate  legislation. 

The  infamous  fugitive  slave  act  of  1850  i 
was  early  attacked  by  the  Republican  parly,  ! 


after  slavery  flung  down  the  gauntlet  by 
acts  of  treason.  Senator  Iloive,  of  Wiscon¬ 
sin,  introduced,  December  26,  the  first 
proposition  to  repeal  that  odious  act.  It 
was  detained  in  committee  and  reported 
back  adversely,  February  11,  1863. 

Mr.  Wilmot,  of  Pennsylvania,  Senator 
Wilson,  of  Mass.,  Thaddeus  Stevens,  of  . 
Penna.,  and  Mr.  Julian,  of  Indiana,  intro¬ 
duced  propositions  to  repeal  this  law  in  the 
Thirty-Eighth  Congress.  On  the  8th  of 
February,  1864,  Mr.  Sumner  introduced  a 
bill  to  repeal  the  law  named.  It  was  re¬ 
ferred  to  a  special  committee.  The  House 
bills  introduced  by  Messrs.  Ashley,  Ste¬ 
vens,  and  Julian  were  referred  to  the  Ju¬ 
diciary  Committee.  Mr.  Morris,  (Republi¬ 
can,)  of  New  York,  on  the  6th  of  June,  re¬ 
ported  a  bill  from  the  committee.  It  passed 
on  the  13th  of  June,  1864.  The  vote  stood 
— 82  yeas,  and  57  nays.  No  Democrat  voted 
for  the  repeal.  On  the  23d  of  June  the  bill 
passed  the  Senate  by  a  vote  of  27  Republi¬ 
cans  to  12  Democrats  and  Conservatives. 
It  was  approved  by  Mr.  Lincoln  June  28, 
1861. 

On  the  11th  of  June,  1864,  a  bill  finally 
passed  and  became  a  law  by  which  the  pay, 
&c.,  of  the  colored  soldier  was  made  equal  in 
all  respects  to  that  of  the  white  soldier.  The 
inequalities  hitherto  existing  were  owing 
to  the  strenuous  opposition  of  Democratsin 
Congress  to  every  measure  equalizing  the 
pay  and  bounties. 

The  attempt  to  pass  a  law  organizing  the 
Bureau  of  Refugees,  Freedmen,  and  Aban 
doned  Lands,  better  known  in  current 
history  as  the  ‘'Freedmen’s  Bureau,”  be 
guu  iu  the  Senate  January  12, 1863,  by  Mr. 
Wilson  presenting  a  memorial  from  Massa¬ 
chusetts,  praying  the  establishment  of  a 
bureau  of  emancipation.  A  bill  for  that 
purpose  was  introduced  into  the  House  by 
Mr.  Eliot,  of  Massachusetts,  on  the  19th  of 
January.  This  passed  the  House  on  the 
24th  of  February.  In  the  Senate  it  was  re¬ 
ferred  to  Mr.  Sumner’s  select  committee  on 
slavery,  by  whom  a  substitute  was  reported 
on  the  12th  of  April.  It  passed  the  Senate 
June  28,  went  to  the  House,  was  postponed 
till  the  next  session,  and  passed  early  in 
1865. 

Bills  were  introduced  during  the  regular 
session  of  the  Thirty-Seventh  Congress  by 
which  tfce  use  of  the  District  of  Columbi . 
jail  as  a  place  of  confinement  for  slaves, 
fugitive  or  otherwise,  was  forbidden.  Presi¬ 
dent  Lincoln,  by  Executive  order  dated 
January  25,  1862,  directed  the  suppression 
of  the  abuses  complained  of. 

On  the  2d  of  July,  1862,  a  bill  declaring 
that  no  person’s  testimony  shall  be  ex¬ 
cluded  by  any  United  States  court,  on 
account  of  their  color  or  former  condition, 
became  law  by  approval  of  the  President. 
It  was  bitterly  opposed  by  the  Democrats. 

The  same  law  contained  a  provision  pro¬ 
hibiting  the  coast- wise  inter-State  slave 


5 


trade.  The  Democrats  opposed  this  also. 

Before  the  war,  colored  men  were  for¬ 
bidden  to  contract  for  or  carry  United 
States  mails.  Mr.  Sumner  moved  in  the 
Senate,  March  18,  1802,  to  remove  all  such 
restrictions.  The  Democrats  opposed  it 
and  voted  against  the  measure.  It  finally 
passed,  after  hitter  opposition,  in  18G4. 

Through  the  exertions  of  Mr.  Sumner,  a 
nill  prohibiting  distinctions  on  account  of 
race  or  color  in  the  public  conveyances  of 
the  District  was  passed,  after  considerable 
Democratic  opposition,  and  became  law  on 
tho  21st,  of  June,  1863. 

Another  of  the  series  of  measures  ren¬ 
dered  necessary  by  the  attitude  of  the 
Southern  Democracy  toward  the  loyal  peo¬ 
ple,  black  and  white,  in  their  midst  was 
proposed  by  Senator  Wilson.  It  provided 
for  the  disbandment  of  the  so-called  State 
militia  organized  under  the  governments 
instituted  by  Mr.  Johnson’s  plan  of  restora¬ 
tion.  This  armed  force  was  used  chiefly 
to  coerce  the  colored  people,  and  enforce 
Jaws  which  practically  made  them  serfs  or 
slaves  of  society. 

In  the  latter  portion  of  the  second  session 
of  the  Thirty-Ninth  Congress,  Mr.  Kasson, 
of  Iowa,  introduced  and  carried  through 
two  measures  intended  to  make  effective 
the  anti  slavery  amendment,  and  to 
prevent  the  evasion  of  the  civil  rights  law. 
In  the  first  instance,  a  system  of  appren¬ 
ticeship  for  colored  children  had  grown  up 
in  former  slave  States,  by  which  they  were 
virtually  made  slavesagain.  Thousands  of 
co’ored  children,  in  Maryland  and  Ken¬ 
tucky  especially,  were  thus  illegally  bound 
to  servitude.  In  other  cases  the  so-called 
Southern  State  Legislatures,  restored  under 
Mr.  Johnson’s  policy,  had  provided  nu¬ 
merous  offences,  the  penalty  of  which  was 
public  sale  for  the  offender.  Sales 
were  made  of  colored  paupers,  so-called, 
and  by  the  system  inaugurated  purposely 
made  vagrants,  in  order  to  sell  in  the  man¬ 
ner  alluded  to.  These  same  Legislatures 
had  passed  liws  by  which  whipping  and 
similar  punishments  were  to  be  inflicted  on 
negroes.  These  were  all  prohibited  under 
heavy  penalties.  In  the  discussion  the 
Democrats  opposed  both  measures  on  the 
ground  that  they  interfered  with  the  “re¬ 
served  rights”  of  the  States.  They  voted 
against  them  on  the  same  ground.  Their 
idea  of  States  rights  is  the  right  to  whip, 

:  r  :nd,  oppress,  and  enslave  the  poor.  The 
Republican  policy  is  that  of  protection  to 
a<l  in  the  degree  rendered  necessary  by 
local  tyranny  and  prejudices,  as  embodied 
in  laws  or  working  through  unjust  and  op¬ 
pressive  customs.  " 

Mr.  Sidney  Clarke,  of  Kansas,  also  in¬ 
troduced  and  carried  a  resolution  in  the 
Thirty-Ninth  Congress,  and  Senator  Wil¬ 
son  introduced  and  carried  in  the  first  ses¬ 
sion  of  the  Fortieth  Congress,  a  bill  abolish¬ 
ing  the  systems  of  peonage  and  Indian 


1  Slavery  existing  in  the  Territory  of  New 
j  Mexico.  After  it  was  seen  that  the  local 
j  aut  orities  failed  to  enforce  its  provi¬ 
sions,  a  resolution  requiring  General  Sher- 
!  man,  as  military  commander  of  the  Indian 
country,  to  see  that  the  law  was  carried 
out,  was  passed  at  the  close  of  the  second 
session  of  the  Fortieth  Congress,  and  by 
this  act  the  last  vestige  of  slavery,  as  an 
organized  system,  Tvas  swept  from  the 
United  States. 

Such  were  the  leading  anti-slavery,  mea- 
*  sures  of  the  Thirty-Seventh  and  Thirty- 
Eighth  Congresses— those  of  the  war,  and  in 
the  Thirty-Ninth,  which  assembled  at  the 
close.  Besides  these  legislative  acts,  how¬ 
ever,  and  Mr.  Lincoln’s  noble  proclama¬ 
tion  of  emancipation,  other  acta  were  being 
performed  under  the  lead  of  the  great  Re¬ 
publican  movement.  Maryland,  Missouri, 
Virginia,  and  West  Virginia  abolished 
slavery  in  their  borders.  Illinois  and  other 
Northern  States  repealed  their  black  laws, 
discriminating  against  a  colored  man’s 
civil  rights,  enacted  by  tlie  Democracy 
when  in  power.  The  Attorney  General 
officially  proclaimed  the  colored  man  to  be  a 
citizen,  and  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States  admitted  him  to  practice 
therein. 

The  debates  on  the  reconstruction  of  the 
rebel  States  begun  in  the  Thirty-Seventh 
Congress,  by  the  introduction  of  a  bill  to 
reorganize  them  as  Territories,  December 
2G,  1861.  It  continued  through  the  Thirty- 
Eighth  Congress  until  the  close  of  field 
operations,  but  no  bill  became  law.  One, 
framed  by  the  late  Henry  Winter  Davis, 
passed,  but  failed  to  receive  Mr.  Lincoln’s 
approval.  Congress  therein  made  the  first 
record  of  its  right  to  decide  this  question. 
The  war  proceeded  to  its  close.  Lee  sur¬ 
rendered  the  rebel  armies  to  our  great  sol¬ 
dier,  General  U.  S.  Grant.  The  bullet  of 
of  a  Democratic  assassin,  John  Wilkes 
Booth,  took  the  life  of  our  great  President, 
Abraham  Lincoln,  and  the  Vice  Presi¬ 
dent,  Andrew  Johnson,  constitutionally 
assumed  the  duties  of  the  office.  The 
Thirty-Ninth  Congress  did  not  meet  unfil 
the  usual  date  in  December,  1805.  In  the 
meanwhile  Mr.  Johnson,  by  proclamation 
and  orders,  had  undertaken  the  work  of 
restoration.  He  appointed  Provisional 
Governors,  declared  who  should  be  voters, 
by  which  he  excluded  the  emancipated  mil¬ 
lions  who  were  loyal,  as  well  as  a  few  thou 
sands  of  the  leading  rebels,  and  left  the 
;  work  of  reorganizing  civil  governments  to 
the  great  body  of  those  who  fought  to  sle- 
'  strov  the  General  Government.  In  Ills 
message  to  Congress  the  President  denied 
the  authority  of  that  branch  of  the  Govern¬ 
ment  to  supervise  his  action.  While  he 
thus  proclaimed  his  action  a  finality,  the 
State  governments  established  under  his 
plan  were  busily  engaged  through  legisla¬ 
tion  in  endeavoring  to  reduce  the  freed 


6 


people  to  the  condition  of  serfdom.  They 
could  not  reestablish  slavery  for  the  benefit 
of  a  master;  so  they  sought  by  unjust  laws 
to  make  the  colored  man  the  vassal  or 
slave  of  society.  To  this  result  the  Repub¬ 
lican  majority  in  Congress  decidedly  ob¬ 
jected. 

The  first  step  taken  by  the  Thirty- 
Ninth  Congress  was  the  appointment  of  a 
joint  Committee  on  Reconstruction,  to 
whom  tne  President’s  message  and  all 
matters  relating  to  the  rebel  States  were  to 
be  referred.  A  very  acrimonious  discus¬ 
sion  a'rose  over  the  proposition  originally 
offered  by  Thaddeus  Stevens.  The  House 
ordered  the  committee,  on  the  4th  of  De¬ 
cember,  1565,  by  a  vote  of  183  to  38,  the 
nays  being,  with  a  few  exceptions,  all 
Democratic.  It  passed  the  Senate  on  the 
i2th  of  December,  by  a  vote  of  33  to  11. 
To  this  committee  was  referred  the  creden¬ 
tials  of  all  persons  claiming  seats  in  Con¬ 
gress  under  the  Johnson  organizations. 
Various  resolutions  were  passed  on  these 
points,  and  the  debate  was  long  and  bril¬ 
liant. 

On  the  5th  of  January,  1866,  Mr.  Trum¬ 
bull  reported  a  bill  “to  protect  all  persons 
in  their  civil  rights.”  It  was  referred  and 
again  reported  on  the  11th  of  the  same 
month.  It  provided  that  there  should  be 
.  no  discrimination  in  civil  rights  on  ac¬ 
count  of  color,  race,  or  previous  condition 
of  slavery;  but  the  inhabitants  of  every 
race  or  color  should  have  the  same  right  to 
make  and  enforce  contracts,  &c.,  and 
should  he  subject  to  like  punishment ,  pains , 
and  penalties,  and  to  none  other ,  any  law, 
statute,  ordinance ,  regulation,  or  custom  to 
the  contrary  notwithstanding.  On  the  2d 
of  February  the  Senate  passed  the  bill  by 
a  vote  of  33  to  12.  There  were  four  then 
known  as  Republican  Senators  who  voted 
with  the  Democrats.  They  have  since 
identified  themselves  with  that  party  Af¬ 
ter  a  long  debate  the  bill  passed  the  House, 
amended  and  made  more  effective,  on  the 
lOtli  of  March  by  a  vote  of  111  to  38.  It 
was  concurred  in  by  the  Senate,  sent  to 
the  President,  and  vetoed  by  him  in  an 
elaborate  message  opposing  the  benefi¬ 
cent  policy  of  the  Republican  party,  and 
passed  over  his  veto  in  the  Senate  on  the 
6th  of  April,  1866,  by  a  vote  of  33  to  15, 
and  in  the  House  on  the  9th  by  a  vote  of 
122  to  41.  Of  the  latter  all  but  two  or 
tmee  were  Democrats. 

On  the  5th  of  January,  1866,  Mr.  Trum¬ 
bull  offered  a  bill  to  enlarge  the  powers  of 
the  Freedmen’s  Bureau.  This  bill  was  the 
corolary  of  the  civil  rights  act,  and  ena¬ 
bled  the  policy  of  that  measure  to  become 
effective  in  the  late  rebel  States.  On  the 
25th  of  January  the  bill  passed  the  benate 
by  a  vote  of  87  yeas  and  10  nays.  On  the 
6th  of  February  the  House  passed  the  bill 
ity  a  vote  of  138  yeas  to  83  nays.  The 


President  vetoed  the  bill,  and  it  passed 
both  houses  on  the  19tli  and  20th  of  Feb¬ 
ruary,  1866. 

An  amended  Freedmen’s  Bureau  bill  was 
reported  to  the  House  by  Mr.  Eliot,  of  Mas¬ 
sachusetts,  on  the  22d  of  May,  1866.  It 
continued  the  bureau  for  two  years.  It 
also  made  provisions  for  aiding  the  settle¬ 
ment  of  the  public  lands  of  the  South,  and 
in  place  of  the  sea  islands,  given  to  the 
freedmen  by  General  Sherman  in  1865,  and 
restored  to  the  formeif  rebel  owners  by 
President  Johnson,  directed  that  the  Com¬ 
missioner  of  the  Bureau  should  provide 
other  lands  for  the  occupants,  to  be  paid  for 
by  them  according  to  General  Shermon’s 
original  order.  Another  section  embodies 
the  provisions  of  the  civil  rights  bill,  and 
directs  the  bureau  officers  to  see  them  en¬ 
forced.  The  bill  passed,  was  vetoed,  and 
finally  became  into  law  July  16,  1868,  by  a 
vote  of  104  to  33  in  the  House,  and  in  the 
Senate  by  a  vote  of  33  to  12.  In  both  cases 
all  the  negatives  were  cast  by  Democrats. 

Thaddeus  Stevens,of  Pennsylvania,  chair¬ 
man  of  the  House  Special  Committee  on  Re¬ 
construction,  reported,  February  20,  1860, 
a  resolution  directing  that  no  State  lately  in 
rebellion  should  be  admitted  to  representa¬ 
tion  until  Congress  shall  have  declared 
such  State  entitled  to  representation 
The  purpose  was  clear,  and  it  dis¬ 
tinctly  announced  the  right  of  Congress  to 
control  the  mode  of  restoration  of  the  States 
which  President  Johnson  declared  in  his 
North  Carolina  proclamation  “  were  with¬ 
out  civil  government.”  The  resolution 
passed  by  a  vote  of  109  to  40.  The  debate 
in  the  Senate  was  very  earnest.  It  passed 
on  the  28th  of  February,  by  a  vote  of  29  to 
18. 

During  the  first  session  of  the  Thirty- 
Ninth  Congress  various  propositions  to 
amend  the  Constitution  were  made.  They 
aimed  at  three  points:  1.  The  more  radi¬ 
cal  statesmen  proposed  to  provide  for  im¬ 
partial  suffrage.  2  Another  proposition 
looked  to  protection  of  civil  rights  and 
equality  in  representation,  declaring  that  a 
State  disfranchising  persons  on  account  of 
race  or  color  should  not  have  those  persons 
counted  in  the  basi3  of  representation.  3. 
The  other  object  was  the  security  of  the 
national  debt  and  of  the  payment  of  pen¬ 
sions,  which  the  Southern  Democrats,  kav- 
iug  become  reinvigorated  by  Mr.  Johnson’s 
policy,  were  threatening  openly  to  repudi¬ 
ate.  Mr.  Thaddeus  Stevens  and  Mr.  Sum¬ 
ner  were  the  chief  movers  in  these  propo¬ 
sitions.  On  the  30tli  of  April,  1866,  Mr. 
Stevens  reported  the  resolutions,  which, 
somewhat  amended,  have  since  become 
part  of  the  National  Constitution.  The 
resolutions,  after  a  vigorous  debate,  passed 
the  House  by  a  vote  of  128  to  37,  the  latter 
being  all  Democrats.  In  the  Senate,  some¬ 
what  changed  the  amendment  passed  on 
the  8th  of  June  by  a  vote  of  38  to  11.  It 


7 


was  agreed  to  by  the  House  on  the  13th  by 
a  vote  of  120  to  32.  As  submitted  to  the 
States  and  ratified  by  the  Legislatures  of 
twenty-eight,  article  fourteen  of  the  Consti¬ 
tution  reads  as  follows: 

Article  14— Section  1.  All  porsons  born  or 
naturalized  ia  tlio  United  States,  and  subject  to 
the  jurisdiction  thereof,  are  citizonsof  the  United 
s-  tates  and  of  the  State  wherein  they  reside.  No 
State  shall  mako  or  enforce  any  law  which  shall 
abridge  the  privileges  or  imm unities  cf  citizens 
of  the  United  States;  nor  shall  any  State  deprive 
any  person  of  life,  liberty,  cr  property  without 
due  process  of  law,  nor  dooy  to  any  person  with¬ 
in  its  jurisdiction  tno  equal  protection  of  the 
laws. 

Sec.  2.  Representatives  shall  be  apportioned 
among  the  several  States  according  to  their  re 
spectlve  numbers,  counting  the  whole  number  of 
persons  in  each  State,  excluding  Indians  not 
taxed.  But  when  the  right  to  vote  at  any  elec¬ 
tion  for  the  choice  of  electors  for  President  and 
Vice  President  of  the  United  States,  representa¬ 
tives  in  Congress,  the  executive  and  jadicial  offi¬ 
cers  of  a  State,  or  the  members  of  the  Legisla¬ 
ture  thereof,  is  denied  to  any  of  the  male  Inhabi¬ 
tants  of  such  State,  being  twenty-ono  years  of  ago, 
and  citizens  of  the  United  States,  or  in  anyway 
abridged,  except  for  participation  in  rebellion  or 
other  crime,  the  basi3  of  representation  therein 
shall  be  reduced  in  the  proportion  which  the  num¬ 
ber  cf  such  male  citizens  shall  bear  to  the  whole 
number  of  male  citizens  twentj-one  years  of  age 
in  such  State. 

sec.  3.  No  person  shall  be  a  Senator  or  Repre¬ 
sentative  in  Congress,  or  elector  of  President  and 
Vice  President,  or  hold  any  office,  civil  or  mili¬ 
tary,  under  the  United  States,  or  under  anv 
State,  who,  having  previously  taken  an  oath,  as 
a  member  of  Congress  or  as  an  officer  of  the 
United  States,  or  as  a  member  of  any  State 
Legislature,  or  as  an  executive  or  judicial  officer 
of  any  State,  to  support  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  shall  have  engaged  in  insurrec¬ 
tion  or  rebellion  against  the  same,  or  given  aid  or 
comfort  to  the  enemies  thereof.  But  Congress 
may,  by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  each  house,  re¬ 
move  such  disability. 

Sec.  4.  The  validity  of  the  public  debt  of  tie 
United  ‘  tates,  authorized  by  law,  including  debts 
incurred  for  payment  of  pensions  and  boun¬ 
ties  for  services  in  suppressing  insurrection  or  re¬ 
bellion,  shall  not  be  questioned.  But  neither  tho 
United  States  nor  any  Stats  shall  assume  or  pay 
any  debt  or  obligation  incurred  in  aid  of  insur¬ 
rection  or  rebellion  against  the  United  States, 
or  any  claim  for  the  loss  or  emancipation  of  any 
slave;  but  all  such  debts,  obligations,  a. fed  claims 
shall  be  held  illegal  anu  void 

Sec.  5.  Ike  Congress  shall  have  power  to  en¬ 
force,  by  appropriate  legislation,  the  provisions 
ci  this  article. 

In  the  Senate,  December  4,  1865,  Sena¬ 
tor  Wade  introduced  a  bill  providing  for 
universal  adult  male  suffrage  in  the  District 
of  Columbia.  In  tlie  House,  on  the  5th, 
Judge  Kelley,  of  Pennsylvania,  offered  a 
similar  bill.  It  was  reported  by  the  Judi¬ 
ciary  Committee  to  the  House  December 
18,  18G5,  and  passed,  after  a  long  debate, 
on  the  18th  of  January,  186G,  by  a  vote  of 
ilG  to  5G — the  negative  vote  including 
several  Republicans.  The  bill  did  not  pass 
the  Senate  until  the  second  session,  when, 
on  the  11th  of  December,  18G6,  it  received 
a  vote  of  32  yea  3  to  13  nays.  The  Presi¬ 
dent  vetoed  it,  and  Congress  promptly 
passed  it  by  a  vote  in  the  House  of  113 
yeas  to  38  nays,  and  in  the  Senate  by  29 
yeas  to  10  nays. 

Mr.  Ashley,  of  Ohio,  on  the  24th  of 
April,  I860,  introduced  a  bill  directing, 


among  other  acts,  that  within  the  Territo¬ 
ries  of  the  United  States  there  should  be 
no  denial  of  su<ffrage  on  account  of  race, 
color,  or  former  condition.  The  bill 
passed  by  a  vote  of  79  to  43.  In  the  Sen¬ 
ate,  on  the  10th  of  January,  1807,  the 
same  bill  also  passed  by  a  vote  of  24  to  7. 

During  the  first  session  the  Stale  of 
Tennessee  appeared  and  asked  admission 
to  representation.  A  favorable  report  was 
made,  through  John  A.  Bingham,,  by  a 
majority  of  the  Reconstruction  Commit 
tee,  upon  the  5th  of  May,  I860.  A 
minority  report  was  made,  and  two  Re¬ 
publican  members  dissented  because  the 
State  had  not  granted  loyal  impartial  suf¬ 
frage.  No  action  was  then  -  taken.  On 
the  20th  of  July,  1866,  another  resolution 
of  admission  was  reported.  The  preamble 
sets  forth  the  fact  that  the  State  had 
acknowledged  paramount  allegiance,  due 
to  the  Union  and  had  shown  a  proper  spirit 
of  obedience  to  the  laws  and  Constitution. 
The  resolution  passed  by  a  v&te  of  125  to  12. 
Several  Democrats  voted  with  the  Repub¬ 
licans.  The  Senate  amended  the  resolution 
and  it  passed  by  a  vote  of  28  to  4.  Tennessee 
was  admitted  to  representation  on  the  22d  of 
July,  1866,  and  became  tbe  first  Southern 
State  restored  to  the  Union  upon  the  basis 
of  impartial  loyal  suffrage. 

After  the  introduction  of  a  number  of 
propositions  looking  to  the  restoration  of 
the  rebel  States  upon  tbe  basis  of  equal 
rights,  and  long  and  able  discussions  uphn 
them,  lasting  through  the  first  and  second 
sessions  of  the  Thirty- Ninth  Congress,  the 
first  reconstruction  act  passed  the  United 
States  Senate  by  a  vote  of  27  yeas  to  10 
nays,  February  17,  1867.  The  House  re¬ 
fused  to  concur  in  the  Senate  bill.  After 
some  discussion  the  House  amended  the 
bill,  and  on  the  20th  of  February  it  passed 
by  a  vote  of  126  to  46 — all  the  Democrats, 
with  a  few  Republicans,  voting  no.  On 
the  same  day  the  Senate  concurred  by  a 
vote  of  35  to  7.  The  President  vetoed  the 
bill,  and  it  passed  over  the  veto  on  the  2d 
of  March,  1867. 

The  first  section  divided  the  ten  States 
lately  in  rebellion  into  five  Military  Dis¬ 
tricts.  The  second  directs  that  a  military 
officer,  not  less  in  rank  than  a  Brigadier 
General,  should  be  detailed  to  command. 
The  third  details  tbe  duties  of  said  officer, 
as  being  to  suppress  insurrection,  disorder, 
and  violence,  and  to  punish,  or  cause  to  be 
punished,  all  disturbers  of  the  public  peace 
and  criminals.  He  was  to  do  this  by  the 
local  provisional  tribunals,  or  by  military 
commissions.  The  fourth  required  no  un¬ 
necessary  delay  in  trial,  & c.  The  fifth 
provides  for  an  election,  authorizes  impartial 
suffrage,  limiting  it  only  loyalty.  Tiio 
sixth  declares  that  the  governments  existing 
in  said  States  are  provisional  and  subject  to 
the  paramount  authority  of  the  United 
States. 


8 


The  Fortieth  Congress  assembled  on  the 
4th  of  March,  1867,  immediately  upon  the 
adjournment  of  the  Thirty-Ninth.  The 
session  did  not  last  long,  and  the  principal 
work  was  the  passage  of  a  supplementary 
reconstruction  act,  rendered  necessary,  it 
was  evident,  by  omissions  in  the  first,  and 
the  condition  of  the  South.  It  related 
chiefly  to  the  mode  of  registration,  and  the 
special  feature  was  a  requirement  that  a 
majority  of  the  voters  registered  should 
vote  affirmatively  for  the  constitutional 
conventions  and  on  the  instruments  they 
should  frame.  Afterward  the  Democratic 
opposition  took  advantage  of  this  provision, 
intended  to  prevent  a  minority  ruling  the 
new  organizations,  and  in  the  case  of  Ala¬ 
bama,  by  staying  away  themselves  and 
forcibly  preventing  the  colored  voters  from 
going  to  the  polls,  attempted  to  prevent  the 
success  of  reconstruction.  They  partially 
succeeded  there.  This  bill  passed  March 
7,  1867. 

A  session  of  Congress  was  held  in  the 
summer  of  1867,  rendered  necessary  by  at¬ 
tempts  of  Mr.  Johnson,  through  au 
opinion  of  the  Attorney  General,  to  nullify 
and  render  nugatory  these  aefs.  A  brief 
supplementary  act  was  passed,  receiving 
the  su  pport  of  all  the  Republicans  and  the 
opposition  of  all  the  Democrats.  This  mea¬ 
sure  declared  the  true  intent  of  the  previous 
reconstruction  act,  provided  for  the  re¬ 
moval  of  disloyal  officers,  and  more  clearly 
defined  -and  enforced  the  duties  of  dis¬ 
trict,  commanders.  The  bill  passed  (July  19, 
1867,)  the  House  over  the  veto  by  a  vote 
of  108  to  25,  and  the  Senate,  on  the  same 
day,  by  a  vote  of  30  to  6. 

At  the  second  session  of  the  Fortieth 
Congress,  the  reconstruction  plans  had  pro¬ 
gressed  so  far  that  several  of  the  late  rebel 
States  were  ready  for  recognition. 

On  the  1  itli  of  March,  1868,  Congress 
amended  the  reconstruction  acts  so  as  to 
allow  a  majority  of  the  votes  cast  to  ratify 
the  new  constitutions.  The  Republicans 
all  voted  for  this,  the  Democrats  against  it. 

On  the  22d  of  June,  1833,  an  act  was 
passed  admitting  the  State  of  Arkansas  to 
representation.  This  measure  was  adopted 
with  a  fundamental  condition  attached, 
that  by  the  8'tate  no  “denial  or  abridge¬ 
ment  of  the  elective  franchise,  or  of  any 
other  right,  to  any  person  by  reason  of 
race  or  color”  should  ever  be  made.  The 
vote  on  its  passage  over  the  veto  was,  in 
the  House,  108  yeas  (all  Republicans)  to 
27  nays  (all  Democrats;)  in  the  Senate  the 
vote  sto  >d+-yeus  80,  nays  7,  the  latter  be¬ 
ing  Demo  -rats. 

On  the  25th  of  June,  1863,  after  consid¬ 
erable  debate  and  vigorous  Democratic  op¬ 
position,  culminating  in  a  Presidential 
veto,  Congress  passed  a  bill  with  the  same 
conditions  as  in  the  case  of  Arkansas,  ad¬ 
mitting  to  rep  .esentation  the  reconstructed 


States  of  Alabama,  North  Carolina,  South 
Carolina,  Louisiana,  Georgia,  and  Florida. 
The  vote  on  final  passage  in  the  House 
stood — 107  Republicans  for,  and  31  Demo¬ 
crats  against,;  in  the  Senate,  35  t^  8,  the 
former  Republicans  all,  and  the  latter 
Democrats. 

During  the  same  session  a  bill  prohibit¬ 
ing  the  counting  of  the  Electoral  College 
votes  of  the  three  States — Virginia,  Missis¬ 
sippi,  and  Texas — still  i.nv<  presented,  was 
passed  against  the  strenuous  opposition  of 
the  Democracy  and  of  Mr.  Johnson.  In 
his  veto  message,  the  lat»er  declared  that 
the  new  governments  recognized  by  Con¬ 
gress  were  revolutionary  in  character. 

So  the  issue  stands.  Congress  has,  un¬ 
der  its  reconstruction  policy,  reorganized 
and  recognized  eight  out  of  eleven  States, 
entirely  unrepresented  when  armed  rebel¬ 
lion  closed,  and  then  as  President  Johnson 
declared,  “deprived  of  all  civil  govern¬ 
ment.”  The  governments  thus  reorgan¬ 
ized  by  Congress  in  the  exercise  of  its  con¬ 
stitutional  duty  under  section  four  of  arti¬ 
cle  four  of  the  Federal  Constitution,  that 
“The  United  States  shall  guarantee  to 
every  State  in  this  Union  a  republican 
form  of  government,”  are  assailed  by  the 
platform  of  one  of  the  great  parties — the 
Democracy — as  “unconstitutional,  revolu¬ 
tionary,  null  and  void”  in  character. 

These  governments,  thus  opposed,  estab¬ 
lish  civil  and  political  equality  for  all  men; 
provide  for  the  establishment  of  common 
schools,  open  to  all;  for  equality  of  taxa¬ 
tion;  for  the  security  of  the  homestead 
and  of  the  poor  man’s  labor  by  a  lien  on 
property.  They  recognize  freedom  of  the 
press,  free  discussion,  and  liberty  of  con¬ 
science.  They  maintain  the  paramount 
allegiance  of  a  citizen  to  the  Union;  they 
recognize  the  sacred  obligation  incurred  in 
the  national  debt,  and  they  have  aceepted 
fundamental  conditions  which  forbid  the 
future  disfranchisement  of  men  on  account 
of  color  or  race. 

The  success  of  the  Republican  party  by 
the  election  of  their  Presidential  nominees, 
General  U.  S.  Grant  and  Honorable 
Schuyler  Colfax,  will  insure  the  success 
of  the  first  beneficent  policy.  The  prayer 
of  the  loyal  millions — “Let  us  have  peace” 
—  will  be  an  accomplished  fact.  The  elec¬ 
tion  of  the  Democratic  candidates,  Horatio 
Seymour  and  Francis  P.  B’air ,  J/\,  will 
insure  the  temporary  triumph.of  oppression 
and  the  permanent  inauguration  of  anarchy 
and  war:  Choose  ye,  wnicn  you  will, 
on,  people  of  America  !  Tiie  work  of 
the  Republican  party  is  before  you. 
The  record  is  complete.  Liberty  its 
desire,  equality  its  wish,  protection 

TO  ALL  FOR  ALL  RIGHTS  ITS  DESIGN,  AND 
AMELIORATION  AND  PROGRESS  ITS  SURE 
RESULT. 


C/momcle  Hm. 


